Photographing apparatus, and method for photographing moving object with the same

ABSTRACT

A photographing apparatus includes: an image pickup section picking up an image of an object to acquire image data; a part judgment section judging a particular part of the object in the image shown based on the image data; a change-in-part judgment section judging change over time of the part of the object judged by the part judgment section; and a control section changing a photographing condition in accordance with a result of the judgment by the change-in-part judgment section, wherein the part judgment section judges a first part of the object in the image and a second part presumed from the first part; and the change-in-part judgment section judges change over time of the second part.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No.2012-172239 filed in Japan on Aug. 2, 2012, the contents of which areincorporated herein by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus forphotographing an object, and a method for photographing a moving objectwith the photographing apparatus.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, photographing apparatuses which are capable ofsequentially converting optical images formed by a photographing opticalsystem to image signals by an image pickup device such as aphotoelectric conversion device and recording the image signals obtainedthereby to a recording medium as image data, for example, a still imageor a moving image and which are configured having an image displaydevice for reproducing and displaying the image data recorded in therecording medium as an image, for example, a liquid crystal display(LCD) have been generally put to practical use and become widespread,the photographing apparatuses being, for example, a digital camera, avideo camera and the like (hereinafter, these will be genericallyreferred to as a camera).

Since this kind of camera is configured to record a photographed imageas electronic data, there is, for example, a merit that it is easy tocontinuously photograph a moving object, selectively store only desiredimages from among a large amount of image data obtained as a result ofthe photographing and discard other unnecessary images.

Recently, the number of pixels of an image pickup device applied to thiskind of camera has been considerably increased, and, for example, stillimage data with a high quality can be acquired from generated movingimage data. Furthermore, by cutting out a part of the still image, astill image with a sufficiently high quality can be also acquired.

As for conventional cameras, various photographing apparatuses areproposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-OpenPublication No. 2007-49408, various photographing apparatuses having aconfiguration which enables anyone to easily acquire a favorablephotographed image by recording an image satisfying a predeterminedcondition, for example, an image in which an object is photographed inthe most desired state (a best shot) or multiple photographed imagesbefore and after the image, from among a lot of image data obtained bycontinuously photographing a moving object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A photographing apparatus of one aspect of the present inventionincludes: an image pickup section picking up an image of an object toacquire image data; a part judgment section judging a particular part ofthe object in the image shown based on the image data; a change-in-partjudgment section judging change over time of the part of the objectjudged by the part judgment section; and a control section changing aphotographing condition in accordance with a result of the judgment bythe change-in-part judgment section, wherein the part judgment sectionjudges a first part of the object in the image and a second partpresumed from the first part; and the change-in-part judgment sectionjudges change over time of the second part.

A method for photographing a moving object using the photographingapparatus of the one aspect of the present invention includes: a step ofgenerating image data by an image pickup section; a first part judgmentstep of judging a first part of an object in an image based on the imagedata; a second part judgment step of presuming and judging a second partof the object in the image based on the image data, from the first part;a change-in-part judgment step of judging change over time of the secondpart; a step of changing setting of a photographing condition inaccordance with a result of the judgment of the change over time of thesecond part; and a step of recording the acquired image data.

The benefit of the present invention will be more apparent from detaileddescription below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing a photographingapparatus (a camera) of one embodiment of the present invention andmainly showing an electrical internal configuration;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a photographing control sequence of thecamera in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a subroutine of a particular part judgment process sequence(a process of step S105) in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of operation in the case where aliving thing, such as a bird, is a main object at the time ofphotographing a picture using the camera in FIG. 1 and showing a statein which a face part of the bird is detected;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing that the bird, which is the main object,detected in a screen is preparing to start a motion of flying off afterthe state in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a first stage of the motion of the birdactually flying off after the motion in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second stage of the motion of the birdactually flying off after the motion in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of operation in the casewhere a living thing, such as a cat, is a main object at the time ofphotographing a picture using the camera in FIG. 1 and showing a statein which a face part of the cat is detected;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing that the cat, which is the main object,detected in the screen is preparing to start a motion of jumping upafter the state in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first stage of the motion of the catactually jumping up after the motion in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second stage of the motion of the catactually jumping up after the motion in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a typical example of change inbehavior in the case where an animal, such as a bird, suddenly movesfrom a normal motion state and showing the normal motion state (firstbehavior) of a bird;

FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating second behavior (apreparation-for-rushing-out period) at the time of the bird starting tomove from the normal motion state (the first behavior) in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 13A is a diagram corresponding to the state in FIG. 12B (thepreparation period);

FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating third behavior (a flying-off period)which continues from the state in FIG. 13A (the preparation period: FIG.12B);

FIG. 14 is a graph showing displacement between an amount and speed ofchange of each part of an object in the case where the object suddenlymoves from a normal motion state (for example, at the time of performinga motion of flying off); and

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a concept at the time of judging each partand a direction of each part when an animal as a main object (in thisexample, a bird) stays sideways.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

One embodiment of the present invention shows an example of a camerawhich is, for example, a photographing apparatus configured to becapable of performing photoelectric conversion of an optical imageformed by an optical lens using a solid-state image pickup device,converting an image signal obtained thereby to digital image dataindicating a still image or a moving image, recording the digital datagenerated in this way to a recording medium, and reproducing anddisplaying the still image or the moving image on a display device onthe basis of the digital image data recorded in the recording medium.

Note that, in each of drawings used in description below, each componentmay be shown with a different scale so that the component can be of arecognizable size on the drawing. Therefore, as for the number ofcomponents, the shapes of the components, the size ratio of thecomponents and relative positional relationships among the respectivecomponents shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limitedto the shown embodiment.

A schematic configuration of the photographing apparatus (the camera) ofthe one embodiment of the present invention will be described below.FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing the photographingapparatus (the camera) of the one embodiment of the present inventionand mainly showing an electrical internal configuration.

As shown in FIG. 1, a camera 1, which is the photographing apparatus ofthe present embodiment, is configured mainly by a signalprocessing/control section 11, an image pickup section 12, an image datatemporary-recording section 13, a recording section 14, an operationsection 16, a zoom control section 17, a display section 18 and thelike.

The image pickup section 12 is configured having a lens section 15, animage pickup device 15 a and the like. The lens section 15 is acomponent unit which transmits light from an object and forms an opticalimage of the object. Though the lens section 15 is shown beingsimplified in FIG. 1, it is, for example, an optical lens unit formed byarranging multiple optical lenses on the same optical axis. The lenssection 15 is configured including multiple frame members which hold themultiple optical lenses, respectively, and drive mechanisms, drivesources and the like which drive the multiple frame members,respectively. Note that the lens section 15 in the present embodiment isassumed to constitute a so-called zoom lens optical system configuredsuch that optical focal distance can be changed continuously ordiscretely. Of course, the lens section 15 may be such that switchesmultiple optical systems. A similar effect can be obtained by electroniczoom for performing cut-out from an image pickup result and using it.

As the image pickup device 15 a, a photoelectric conversion device orthe like is applied which is a solid-state image pickup device, forexample, a CCD image sensor using a circuit element such as a CCD(charge coupled device) or an MOS type image sensor using an MOS (metaloxide semiconductor). The image pickup device 15 a causes an objectimage formed by a flux of light collected by the lens section 15 to bereceived on a predetermined light receiving surface (an image pickupsurface) and performs photoelectric conversion processing for theoptically formed image. Here, the image pickup device 15 a converts thequantity of light of the object image (an optical image) to an analogsignal indicating the quantity of electric charge. The electric signal(an analog image signal) generated by the image pickup device 15 a isoutputted to a reading section 11 a of the signal processing/controlsection 11.

The signal processing/control section 11 is configured by a controlsystem circuit which performs overall control of each operation sequenceof the camera 1, a signal processing system circuit which receives theelectric signal (the analog image signal) generated and outputted by theimage pickup device 15 a and performs various signal processes and thelike.

The signal processing/control section 11 is configured, for example, bythe reading section 11 a, a first image processing section 11 b, asecond image processing section 11 c, a part judgment section 11 d, achange-in-part judgment section 11 e, an image selection section 11 f, adisplay control section 11 g, an S compression section 11 h, a first Mcompression section 11 i, a second M compression section 11 j, arecording control section 11 k and the like.

The reading section 11 a is a signal processing section which receivesthe electric signal (the analog image signal) outputted from the imagepickup device 15 a and performs processing for reducing reset noise andthe like, waveform shaping processing, gain-up processing, AD conversionprocessing for converting the analog image signal to a digital imagesignal (image data), and the like. The reading section 11 a alsofunctions as a frame rate (FR) switching section which switches a framerate (FR) at the time of reading a signal of the image pickup device 15a. Image data outputted from the reading section 11 a is transmitted tothe image data temporary-recording section 13 and temporarily stored inthe image data temporary-recording section 13.

The first image processing section 11 b is an image data processingsection which performs various image processes (such as contrastadjustment processing and color correction processing) for image data(first image data to be described later) read from a firsttemporary-recording section 13 a of the image data temporary-recordingsection 13. The image data for which the various processes have beenperformed by the first image processing section 11 b is transmitted tothe image selection section 11 f.

The second image processing section 11 c is an image data processingsection which performs various image processes (such as contrastadjustment processing and color correction processing) for image data(second image data to be described later) read from a secondtemporary-recording section 13 b of the image data temporary-recordingsection 13. The image data for which the various processes have beenperformed by the second image processing section 11 c is transmitted tothe image selection section 11 f.

The image selection section 11 f is a circuit section which receivessignals from the first image processing section 11 b and the secondimage processing section 11 c and selectively controls any of thesignals in accordance with a predetermined condition. The imageselection section 11 f has an image composition function and the like.For example, the image selection section 11 f generates acomposition-processed image or the like on the basis of multiple imagedata, as an image to be displayed on the display section 18 via thedisplay control section 11 g.

The S compression section 11 h, the first M compression section 11 i andthe second M compression section 11 j are data compression processingsections which perform compression processing and the like of image databy a predetermined compression method. Among these data compressionprocessing sections, image data which the S compression section 11 hmainly handles is assumed to be still image data. In this case,compression processing is performed by a method in conformity with, forexample, the JPEG standard.

Image data which the first M compression section 11 i and the second Mcompression section 11 j handle is assumed to be moving image data. Inthis case, compression and development processes are performed byvarious methods in conformity with, for example, the Motion-JPEGstandard, the H.264 standard and the like. Note that the first Mcompression section 11 i is assumed to mainly handle the first imagedata (to be described later), and the second M compression section 11 jis assumed to mainly handle the second image data (to be describedlater).

That is, the camera 1 has image processing circuits of two systems sothat image processing and the like can be performed for the first imagedata and the second image data at the same time in parallel.

The display control section 11 g is a control circuit section whichperforms drive control of the display section 18. The display controlsection 11 g receives image data (image data showing a still image or amoving image) selected and set by the image selection section 11 f andcontrols the display section 18 to display the image on a display panelof the display section 18.

The recording control section 11 k is a control circuit section whichperforms drive control of the recording section 14. The recordingcontrol section 11 k receives output from the S compression section 11h, the first M compression section 11 i, the second M compressionsection 11 j and the like and performs control to transfer and recordimage data to the recording section 14.

The part judgment section 11 d identifies a predetermined part of anobject, for example, a part corresponding to a face (a first part), theshape of the object and the like on the basis of acquired image data.That is, by referring to a database (an image dictionary) and the likeprepared in advance and judging similarity degree or correspondencedegree, the part judgment section 11 d identifies each of parts (eyes,nose, mouth and the like) forming a part of an object, for example, aface. Thereby, it is also possible to judge the size of the face in ascreen.

Furthermore, the direction and inclination of the face is judged frominformation about arrangement and shapes of these parts, such aspositions and balance of the contour. For example, if only one eye canbe detected, the face can be judged to be sideways. Furthermore, thepart judgment section 11 d is a data processing circuit section whichidentifies and judges classification of an object (for example, a kindsuch as a human being, a bird, a dog, and a cat) and the like from theimage dictionary which is held for each information about theinclination of the face such as a contour, distribution of colors andthe like, and presumes the position and state of a body, legs or thelike (a second part) from the position of a face. Specifically, forexample, what is called face detection means, form detection means orthe like is applied to the part judgment section 11 d. For example, frominformation about the size of a face obtained first, the position of alower back/hip (hereinafter, referred to simply as “lower back”) or theposition of legs can be estimated, for example, in such a way ofthinking that a human body is seen as being seven heads high or eightheads high. At this time, from the kind of an animal judged by theclassification judgment and the direction obtained by a result of theinclination judgment, it is possible to judge on which side of the faceof the animal (or a human being) the lower back and legs exist. Ofcourse, since the lower back and legs of the animal exist at a partconnected to the face, contour information and color information may beused as assistant means for detecting the part connected to the face. Ifa human being is a target, his lower back exists at a part at apredetermined position below the face based on the size of the face(which can be regarded as a head) when he is in a standing posture.

The change-in-part judgment section 11 e is a data processing circuitsection which judges positional change and the like (such as an amountand direction) of a particular part identified and judged by the partjudgment section 11 d in the screen. The judgment can be performed bycomparing images continuously obtained and judging where in the screenthe positions of similar parts shift at each time.

The image data temporary-recording section 13 is a temporary storagesection which receives output (image data) and the like from the readingsection 11 a and temporarily stores the data. The image datatemporary-recording section 13 is mainly configured, for example, by anSDRAM. The image data temporary-recording section 13 is configuredhaving the first temporary-recording section 13 a which mainly handles,for example, still image data and the second temporary-recording section13 b which mainly handles, for example, moving image data.

The recording section 14 is a component section for recording variousdata including image data and is configured by a recording medium, adriving circuit therefor and the like. As the recording medium, forexample, a card-shape semiconductor memory which is detachably arranged,a so-called memory card or the like is applied. As for the form of therecording medium, for example, the recording medium may be configured bya medium fixed in the camera, and various forms, such as an opticalplate medium and a magnetic medium, can be applied in addition to asemiconductor memory.

The operation section 16 is configured by multiple operation members forperforming various operations against the camera 1, correspondingoperation switches and the like. When a user operates a predeterminedoperation member of the operation section 16, a predeterminedinstruction signal occurs from a corresponding operation switch, and theinstruction signal is transmitted to the signal processing/controlsection 11. Receiving the instruction signal, the signalprocessing/control section 11 appropriately executes various sequencescorresponding to the operation.

Specifically, the operation section 16 includes, for example, operationmembers such as a moving image photographing operation section 16 a usedat the time of performing a start or stop operation of moving imagephotographing and a still image photographing operation section 16 bwhich is a shutter release button, in addition to a power source button,a menu button, a control dial, a mode switching dial, a function button,a reproduction switching button and the like. Furthermore, the operationsection 16 includes an operation member for input for inputting variousinstructions, for example, a touch panel. The touch panel is arranged,for example, being overlapped on the outer surface of the display panelof the display section 18. Note that functions and the like of thevarious operation members included in the operation section 16 areassumed to be similar to those adopted in conventional photographingapparatuses and the like, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The zoom control section 17 is a control circuit which mainly controls azooming operation among operation controls of the lens section 15, incooperation with the signal processing/control section 11. Therefore,the zoom control section 17 performs drive control of the drivemechanisms, the drive sources and the like which drive the lens section15, among component units included in the image pickup section 12.

The display section 18 is, for example, configured by the display panel,such as a liquid crystal display device (LCD), and a display driver orthe like which performs drive control of the display panel. The displaysection 18 performs, for example, rec-view display or display such asreproduction display of an image (a still image, a moving image or thelike) based on image data (a JPEG file or the like) recorded in therecording medium of the recording section 14 and live view display atthe time of performing a photographing operation. The display section 18also displays a menu for making various settings and operation buttonsfor the touch panel for performing various operations in conjunctionwith the touch panel.

Operation at the time of photographing a picture using the camera 1 ofthe present embodiment configured as described above will be describedbelow.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing a part of a process sequence of thecamera 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing aphotographing control sequence of the camera 1. FIG. 3 shows asubroutine of a particular part judgment process sequence, which is theprocess of step S105 in FIG. 2.

First, it is assumed that the camera 1 is powered on, and the operationmode of the camera 1 is set to a photographing mode. It is assumed that,in this state, the camera 1 always executes display of a through image(a live view image) and an operation of recording a first image (to bedescribed later) (step S101 in FIG. 2). The recording operation executedat this time is temporary recording. Therefore, such operation is beingexecuted that old recording data is deleted when a predetermined amountof recording capacity is exceeded, and a predetermined amount of newrecording data is continuously being recorded. Of course, it is possibleto record a lot of images depending on design, and thus the deletion maynot be performed.

Note that the first image (data) described above is defined to be animage with a predetermined angle of view for which zoom setting has beenarbitrarily performed by the user arbitrarily performing zooming settingof the lens section 15 of the camera 1. In comparison, a second image(data) to be described later is defined to be an image in the case wherethe lens section 15 of the camera 1 is set to focal length on theshortest focal length side (wide-angle end). Though the case of settingthe lens section 15 to the wide-angle end is shown as an example todescribe the second image here, the second image is not limited thereto.The setting may be changed according to a situation at the time ofphotographing. In that case also, a particular effect can be expected ifa wider angle of view than the angle of view used in currentphotographing is set. It is not necessarily required to use a zoom lensto obtain an image with a wide angle. It is also possible to prepare aseparate optical system or image pickup device with a wide angle of viewand use an image obtained therefrom. The second image is an imagephotographed by the camera for a fail-safe purpose when a photographerfails in photographing (such as in including an object within thescreen). To accomplish the purpose, anything is possible if it issomething that obtains an image of the object from a wide photographingrange.

At step S103, the part judgment section 11 d confirms whether a mainobject in an image is a human being or not. If it is confirmed that themain object is not a human being here, the camera 1 proceeds to theprocess of step S105 (see the detailed flowchart in FIG. 3). If it isconfirmed that the main object is a human being, the camera 1 proceedsto a process of step S104.

At step S104, a normal photographing process which is performed in thecase where an object is judged to be a human being, that is, an AEprocess and an AF process are executed with the face of the human beingas a target.

Next, at step S108, the camera 1 sets various setting values, such as aframe rate, an optical system and a cutout range, to predeterminedvalues.

Next, at step S111, the camera 1 confirms whether an instruction toperform a still image photographing operation has been issued or not. Inthis case, the instruction to perform a still image photographingoperation can be confirmed, for example, by monitoring output of aninstruction signal of the still image photographing operation section 16b of the operation section 16. Here, if the instruction to perform astill image photographing operation has been issued, the camera 1proceeds to a process of step S112. If an instruction other than theinstruction to perform a still image photographing operation has beenissued, the camera 1 proceeds to a process of step S115.

When the camera 1 proceeds to the process of S112 in the case where astill image photographing mode is set, a normal still imagephotographing operation is performed at step S112. Image data targetedhere is the first image, that is, image data with an angle of view setby the user.

Next, at step S113, it is confirmed whether the second image exists ornot. Here, if the second image which has been photographed with a widerangle of view by assistance of the camera in case the photographercannot correctly perform photographing, the camera 1 proceeds to aprocess of next step S114. In the case where the second image does notexist or is not necessary, such as in the case where such assistance isnot necessary, the camera 1 proceeds to the process of step S115. Thesecond image is an image obtained by picking up an image from anobservation image (an image intended to be photographed) which isobtained by photographing an object large and in which details of thestate and movement of the object is judged, even if the whole target isnot completely included in the observation image. Any image is possibleif detection is possible. An image on the wide angle side is possible ifzooming is assumed, and an image photographed by a dedicated separateimage pickup section with a wide angle of view is also possible.

At step S114, the camera 1 extracts still image data for a particularperiod (timing), that is, at a timing of the still image photographingoperation instruction at the process of step S111 described above, fromthe second image data temporarily stored in the secondtemporary-recording section 13 b of the image data temporary-recordingsection 13, and executes a still image recording process for recordingthe still image data to the recording medium of the recording section 14as still image data via the second image processing section 11 c, theimage selection section 11 f, the S compression section 11 h and therecording control section 11 k (in a normal process procedure). This isa process of using an image recorded in advance on the assumption of thephotographer being slow to respond at the time of performingphotographing. Since there may be a case that the photographer performsphotographing in haste and misses the timing, acquisition of the secondimage may be continued after acquisition of the first image.

At step S115, the camera 1 monitors an instruction signal from theoperation section 16 and confirms whether a signal of instruction to endthe moving image photographing operation being executed is outputted.(As for moving image photographing, since it is only necessary to thinkabout whether or not to leave a result of the recording performed atS101, description about where the moving image photographing is to bestarted is omitted. It is also possible to continuously perform movingimage photographing and record only a moving image during a periodselected at S116.) Here, if the signal of the instruction to end themoving image photographing is confirmed, the camera 1 proceeds to aprocess of step S116. If the signal of the instruction to end the movingimage photographing is not confirmed, the camera 1 returns to theprocess of step S101 described above, and the subsequent process isrepeated.

When the signal of the instruction to end the moving image photographingoperation is confirmed and the camera 1 proceeds to the process of stepS116, the camera 1 executes a moving image file creation process at stepS116. In the moving image file creation process, a moving imagerecording process is executed in which the first image data temporarilyrecorded in the first temporary-recording section 13 a of the image datatemporary-recording section 13 is extracted, and a moving imagerecording process for recording the first image data to the recordingmedium of the recording section 14 as moving image data via the firstimage processing section 11 b, the image selection section 11 f, thefirst M compression section 11 i and the recording control section 11 k(in a normal process procedure) is executed.

Note that, in the moving image file creation process, data may berecorded to the recording medium of the recording section 14 as movingimage data from the second image data of the second temporary-recordingsection 13 b of the image data temporary-recording section 13 via thesecond image processing section 11 c, the image selection section 11 f,the second M compression section 11 j and the recording control section11 k. In this case, as for moving image recording of the second imagedata, various patterns are conceivable as a trigger for recording thesecond image data, such as a form of executing the moving imagerecording when a recording operation is intentionally performed by theuser (for example, an instruction to set an operation mode or arecording operation instruction issued directly) and a form ofautomatically executing the moving image recording when the second imagedata exists.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the main object is not ahuman being by the process of step S103 described above, and the camera1 proceeds to the process of step S105, a particular part judgmentprocess (a detailed process sequence is the subroutine in FIG. 3) isexecuted at step S105.

Note that, though it is assumed that, in addition to a human being,specifically a bird and a cat can be judged as a main object which canbe detected by the part judgment section 11 d in the camera 1 of thepresent embodiment, the camera 1 may be adapted to judge other livingthings, animals and the like. In the case of a human being also, theremay be a case where the four limbs are freely used to apply an animalmovement, such as in the case of starting running from a posture atstart line position, in the case of sports including a jumping motion,such as broad jumping, skating and gymnastics, and in the case of anapproach run, a posture or a takeoff before jumping or diving inswimming. Therefore, it goes without saying that a way of thinkingsimilar to the above is applicable. In tennis, baseball and soccer, apeculiar movement pattern at the time of hitting a ball is included. Inthis case also, since a body moves fast and in a big amount, there is ahigh possibility that the object is not included within the screen, andthe present invention can be effectively used. In this case, successivemotions can be anticipated by judging what sport is performed frominformation about the direction or posture of the object. The reason isthat there is a particular relation among a direction the object islooking toward, a part the object moves and a direction the object movesin because the object faces a direction in which he dashes out or adirection in which he intends to aim a ball. In photographing of a bird,a dog, a cat or the like, prompt photographing is required, and thephotographer has no time for preparation in advance. The features of thepresent invention can be more effective. Therefore, a movement of ananimal will be described below in detail. As for vertebrate animalswhich move fast, for example, a frog or a gecko also has four limbs, andits four limbs opposite to its face move strenuously when it tries tomove in the direction its face faces. When it tries to move the limbs,the part and a lower back part connecting to the part change in advance.

Note that, as for what animal an observer, that is, a photographerobserves with interest, it is more effective at the time of analyzingthe target in detail to capture the target with a narrower angle of viewin a broader range of the screen.

In order to judge what a main object detected in the screen is, adatabase or the like stored in advance, for example, in the recordingsection 14 or another storage section (not shown) is referred to. Thedatabase or the like includes various information, such ascharacteristic shapes and the like about living things, animals and thelike which can be a main object. The part judgment section 11 d refersto the database or the like and judges individual living things, animalsand the like to be main objects in the screen. Therefore, if variousdatabases and the like corresponding to living things, animals and thelike to be a photographing target, respectively, are prepared inadvance, it becomes possible to handle various kinds of objects. In thecase of a human being, since various sports are performed in posturespeculiar to the sports, respectively, a dictionary for each sport may beheld.

At step S201 in FIG. 3, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1detects whether a main object is a bird or not. Here, if a bird isdetected as the main object, the camera 1 proceeds to a process of stepS202. Here, if something other than a bird is detected as the mainobject, the camera 1 proceeds to a process of step S211.

At step S202, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 performs aprocess for judging a face section (the first part) of the bird detectedas the main object.

First, at step S203, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1executes sideways face judgment. Here, if the face is judged to besideways, the camera 1 proceeds to a process of step S204. If the faceis judged not to be sideways, the camera 1 exits the particular partjudgment process, returns to the original process sequence, and proceedsto a process of step S106 in FIG. 2.

That is, an example is shown in which the camera 1 of the presentembodiment performs prediction of a motion of an object to be describedlater only when the face of a bird, which is a main object, is sideways.For the motion prediction also, the database or the like described aboveis referred to. Therefore, by enlarging the database or the like, it ispossible to perform the motion prediction according to the direction ofthe face of a bird.

At step S204, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 judges abody part (the second part) from the position of the face part judged bythe processes of step S202 and S203 described above.

At step S205, it is confirmed whether the body part judgment is possibleor not. Here, if the body part judgment is possible, the camera 1proceeds to a process of step S206. If the body part judgment isimpossible, the camera 1 exits the process sequence, returns to theoriginal process sequence, and proceeds to the process of step S106 inFIG. 2.

At step S206, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 judges therear of the body part, that is, a part on the horizontally opposite sideof the part of the face to be a lower back and judges a part on thelower side of the lower back to be legs. In order to dash out in thedirection the face faces, it is necessary to move a part on the oppositeside. Therefore, monitoring attaching great importance thereto isimportant. Especially in the case of a vertebrate animal, a head part(including a face) exists at the tip of its vertebra, and a leg partexists on the opposite side thereof.

Next, at step S207, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1confirms whether legs judgment is possible or not. Here, if the legsjudgment is possible, the camera 1 proceeds to a process of step S208.If the legs judgment is impossible, the camera 1 exits the processsequence, returns to the original process sequence, and proceeds to theprocess of step S106 in FIG. 2.

At step S208, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 performsjudgment of lower part areas and distal end parts of the legs. Here, asthe process for judging a particular part (the lower parts of legs, thedistal end parts of legs and the like), judgment is performed by imageanalysis, for example, analysis of positional difference from ajudgeable part, contours, colors and contrast. After that, the camera 1exits the process sequence, returns to the original process sequence andproceeds to the process of step S106 in FIG. 2.

Especially in the case of performing grooming, the face is set towardthe body. However, in the case of flying off, the bird looks toward thedirection of flying off, and the bird disappears suddenly or spreads itswings and flies to the outside from the screen. A scene which thephotographer easily fails in photographing in such a situation can beeasily detected according to the present invention. Though descriptionis made here on the assumption of a motion of flying off as a typicalexample of a movement which is not completely included within a smallangle of view (a large movement), a movement to be a sign in this caseis a movement of a part where strength is put at the time of flying off(for example, a leg part), and, in many cases, the part exists oppositeto the direction the face faces. In the case of a human being, however,there may be a case where he jumps up and down while facing front. Inthis case also, he seldom faces down, and his legs and lower back in adirection different from the direction of the face largely change.

On the other hand, if something other than a bird is detected as a mainobject at step S201 described above, and the camera 1 proceeds to theprocess of S211, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 confirmswhether the main object is a cat or not, that is, the face of a cat (thefirst part) has been detected or not at step S211. Here, if a cat faceis detected as the main object, the camera 1 proceeds to a process ofstep S212.

At step S212, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 continuesthe subsequent judgment process with the cat face which is the main bodyas a particular part.

That is, first, at step S213, the part judgment section 11 d of thecamera 1 executes sideways cat face judgment. The sideways cat facejudgment is almost similar to the process of step S203 described above.

Here, if a sideways face is judged, the camera 1 proceeds to the nextprocess of step S213. If the face is judged not to be sideways, thecamera 1 exits the particular part judgment process, returns to theoriginal process sequence, and proceeds to the process of step S106 inFIG. 2.

Next, at step S214, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1judges a body part (the second part) from the position of the face part(the first part). This process is almost similar to the process of stepS204 described above.

At step S215, it is confirmed whether the body part judgment is possibleor not. This confirmation process is almost similar to the process ofstep S205 described above.

Here, if the body part judgment is possible, the camera 1 proceeds tothe process of step S216. If the body part judgment is impossible, thecamera 1 exits the process sequence, returns to the original processsequence and proceeds to the process of step S106 in FIG. 2.

At step S216, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 judges therear of the body part, that is, a part on the horizontally opposite sideof the part of the face to be a lower back and judges a part on thelower side of the lower back to be legs. This confirmation process isalmost similar to the process of step S206 described above.

Next, at step S217, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1confirms whether legs judgment is possible or not. This confirmationprocess is almost similar to the process of step S207 described above.

Here, if the legs judgment is possible, the camera 1 proceeds to theprocess of step S218. If the legs judgment is impossible, the camera 1exits the process sequence, returns to the original process sequence andproceeds to the process of step S106 in FIG. 2.

At step S218, the part judgment section 11 d of the camera 1 performsjudgment of lower part areas and distal end parts of the legs. Thisconfirmation process is almost similar to the process of step S208described above. After that, the camera 1 exits the process sequence,returns to the original process sequence and proceeds to the process ofstep S106 in FIG. 2.

A technique of, in a photographing apparatus, detecting a human being'sface area existing in an image on the basis of image data acquired by animage pickup device, judging that the face area is a human being's faceand identifying and judging that the judged human being's face is aparticular person's face or a smiling face has been already established.

For living things other than a human being, animals and the like, it isalso possible to perform detection and judgment of a face by detectingshades, an arrangement pattern and the like of respective partsconstituting the face, for example, eyes, a nose, a mouth and the like.That is, in view of the fact that each of parts constituting the face ofvarious kinds of living things, animals and the like differs accordingto the kind of each living thing, animal and the like, it has becomepossible in recent years to judge the various kinds of living things,animals and the like by analyzing two-dimensional image data.

Furthermore, for various living things, animals and the like, if aconfiguration is made in which various variation face patterns, such asa profile pattern, are accumulated in a database or the like in additionto a front face pattern so that the variation face patterns can bereferred to, it is easily possible to detect a profile and the like.

As a specific example in addition to the above techniques, for example,in the case of a relatively small-size bird, the whole bird can beeasily included within the screen, and, therefore, it is possible tojudge whether an object in the screen is a bird or not by performingpattern matching or the like, for example, about whether its body has apeculiar streamline shape or about a characteristic movement pattern orthe like on the basis of an obtained whole image of the object includedwithin the screen.

Birds often have a tendency to have a peculiar movement pattern such asmoving the body (wings) or the face frequently while stopping movementof the legs. From this, it is possible to judge an image areacorresponding to a face part of a bird in the screen by referring to thedatabase for characteristic motion patterns and performing patternanalysis.

Furthermore, if a database or the like in which information aboutcharacteristic forms, such as a triangular bill in a uniform color beingarranged at the tip of a face part, are accumulated is prepared, it ispossible to detect an object on the basis of a form correspondencedegree by pattern recognition and perform a process of judging a profileof a bird.

If a face part pattern of an object, which is a bird, is judged in thisway, the size of the face (an occupied area in the image or the like) isestimated next, and the position of a body part can be judged frominformation about the direction, size and the like of the face. Forexample, the form of a body part of an animal with a profile face can bepresumed to be mostly horizontally long and a leg part can be presumedto exist at a lower part of the moving object. Furthermore, by detectingthe size of a face after detecting the face, an area with apredetermined length based on the size of the face, for example, ahorizontally long area with a length about five times as long as theface width can be presumed to be a body part. Aside from this, forexample, in the case of detecting a face, an area in a particulardirection based on the position of the face or a direction the facefaces (a line-of-sight direction), for example, an area nearer to thebottom of the screen than the position of the face and in a directionopposite to the direction the face faces can be presumed to be a bodypart.

Anyway, in order to sufficiently observe such a target that its movementis to be judged, it is better to narrow the angle of view and monitorthe target large to see the state well. However, there is a problem thatthe target is not included within the narrow angle of view if it movesstrenuously.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the main object is not a catface at the process of step S211 described above, the camera 1 proceedsto a process of step S221.

At step S221, judging that it is impossible to detect the kind of themain object, the camera 1 returns to the original process sequence andproceeds to the process of step S106 in FIG. 2.

When returning to step S106 in the process sequence in FIG. 2 from theparticular part judgment process in FIG. 3 in this way, the camera 1confirms at step S106 whether the particular part judgment was possibleor not in the process in FIG. 3. Here, if the particular part judgmentwas possible, the camera 1 proceeds to a process of step S107. If theparticular part judgment was impossible, the camera 1 proceeds to aprocess of step S121.

At step S107, the camera 1 executes an AE process and an AF process witha central area of the screen as a target. After that, the camera 1proceeds to the process of step S108 described above.

On the other hand, at step S121, the camera 1 confirms a zoom state setcurrently and confirms whether an optically wider angle is possible ornot. Here, if a wider angle is possible, the camera 1 proceeds to aprocess of step S122. If a wider angle is impossible, the camera 1proceeds to the process of step S111 described above.

At step S122, the camera 1 performs drive control of the lens section 15via the zoom control section 17 and executes an angle-widening processfor an optical system. In this case, the focal length of the lenssection 15 to be set is the widest angle that can be set. As describedabove, an image displayed on the basis of image data obtained then isthe second image.

At step S123, the camera 1 sets a cutout range. Here, the cutout rangeis a range corresponding to the first image. That is, at this timepoint, the lens section 15 has been set to the widest angle by theprocess of step S122 described above, and an image pickup range is arange indicated by a symbol Xw shown in FIG. 1.

Therefore, an angle-of-view range to be displayed on the display section18 is assumed to be an angle-of-view range corresponding to a zoom valueset by the user before, that is, corresponding to the first image. Here,the angle-of-view range is assumed to be a range indicated by a symbolXt shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, processing for cutting a predeterminedrange from an actual image pickup range, that is, the second image dataand making it the first image data is performed. Then, processing isperformed so that an image corresponding to the first image data isdisplayed on the display section 18. A cutout range setting process isperformed for that purpose. Therefore, the cutout range corresponds to aphotographing range of the first image corresponding to a zoom value setby the user.

At step S124, the change-in-part judgment section 11 e of the camera 1performs a process for judging change in a predetermined part of themain object. In this case, for example, a motion of lowering down alower back part or a motion of bending legs is detected as a motion of apredetermined part.

If the motion of lowering down a lower back or the motion of bendinglegs is detected at the process of step S124 described above, the camera1 proceeds to a process of step S125. If the change in motion describedabove is not confirmed, the camera 1 proceeds to the process of stepS111 described above.

At step S125, the reading section 11 a of the camera 1, for example,speeds up the frame rate for a process of reading data from the imagepickup section 12. After that, the camera 1 proceeds to the process ofstep S111. Note that there is a possibility that a high-quality imagecannot be maintained only by simply speeding up the frame rate. Forexample, appropriate exposure cannot be obtained. Therefore, when theframe rate switching process by the reading section 11 a is executed,the signal processing/control section 11 of the camera 1 simultaneouslychanges settings of parameters related to exposure setting amongphotographing condition parameters, for example, a sensitivity settingvalue, an aperture value and the like.

Here, simple description will be made on a state at the time of a bird,a cat or the like in a normal motion state is starting a motion. FIGS. 4to 7 are diagrams showing an example of operation in the case where aliving thing, such as a bird, is a main object at the time ofphotographing a picture using the camera 1 of the present embodiment.FIGS. 8 to 11 are diagrams showing another example of operation in thecase where a living thing, such as a cat, is a main object at the timeof photographing a picture using the same camera 1.

In FIGS. 4 to 11, an image in a frame indicated by reference numeral 14a is assumed to be the second image (an image with the widest angle). Animage in a frame indicated by reference numeral 14 b is assumed to bethe first image (an image by set zoom). Note that the frame of the firstimage 14 b changes according to a set zoom value. The maximum range inthat case is the same as the range of the second image 14 a (thewidest-angle range). Note that, though the second image is assumed to bean image of the widest-angle range in this example, this may be changedaccording to a situation at the time of photographing. In this case, aparticular effect can be expected if a wider angle than the angle ofview used in current photographing is set.

A state shown in FIG. 4 shows a state in which a face part of a bird hasbeen detected. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 14 c indicating adotted-line circle is an indicator showing a detected face area of abird. This state corresponds to the process from steps S201 to S202 inthe process sequence in FIG. 3. Information about the size of the facemay be detected then to use the information as a reference of detectionof various positions and judgment of various lengths. Of course, thesize of a part of a body other than the face may be used instead.

When the state in FIG. 4 transitions to a state in FIG. 5, the bird,which is a main body detected in the screen, is preparing to start toperform a flying-off motion. When a bird flies off from a normal motionstate, it performs characteristic motions, for example, a motion ofturning its face to a flying-off direction (an arrow A), a motion ofbending its legs and lowering down its lower back (an arrow B) or thelike.

After that, from a state in FIG. 6 to a state in FIG. 7, the birdactually performs a flying-off motion. In this case, in the state inFIG. 6, the bent legs stretch as well as the wings starting to stretch.In the state in FIG. 7, the legs completely stretch, and the bird fliesoff with the wings stretching wide. Then, the bird flies off in thedirection of the arrow A. At this time, the bird as a main objectstretches its wings and simultaneously moves to one direction (thedirection of the arrow A) at a high speed. Since the part judgmentsection 11 d has a function of continuing to follow and detect adetected part, the cutout range setting may be changed so that the wholeimage of a moving object is included in association with the detectionby following. That is, as for the cutout range, a result of judgment bythe change-in-part judgment section 11 e may be reflected so that thecutout range of the first image corresponding to a zoom value based onthe user's setting operation may be zoomed out to be slightly shifted tothe wide angle side.

Similarly, a state shown in FIG. 8 shows a state in which a face part ofa cat has been detected. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 14 c indicating adotted-line circle is an indicator showing a detected cat face area.This state corresponds to the process from steps S211 to S212 in theprocess sequence in FIG. 3.

When the state in FIG. 8 transitions to a state in FIG. 9, the cat,which is a main body detected in the screen, is preparing to start toperform a jumping-up motion. When a cat jumps up from a normal motionstate, it performs characteristic motions, for example, a motion ofturning its face to a jumping-up direction (an arrow A), a motion ofbending its hind legs and lowering down its lower back (an arrow B) orthe like.

After that, from a state in FIG. 10 to a state in FIG. 11, the catactually performs a jumping-up motion. In this case, in the state inFIG. 10, the bent hind legs begin to stretch, and, in the state in FIG.11, the hind legs stretch more as well as the upper body stretching up.Then, the cat jumps up into the direction of the arrow A.

As described above, in the case of an animal which moves fast, such as abird and a cat, even if moving image photographing of a motion performedafter the respective states in FIGS. 6 and 10 transition to therespective states in FIGS. 7 and 11 is performed at the normal framerate and a predetermined one frame during the moving image photographingis taken out as a still image, so-called object blur occurs, and it isdifficult to certainly capture the moment of the movement because thespeed of the motion of the object is very fast.

Therefore, in the camera 1 of the present embodiment, a movement at thetime of an object being photographed transitioning to a sudden motion,specifically, for example, a motion of turning a face to a direction offlying off or jumping up or a motion of bending a leg part and loweringdown a lower back is detected (the process of step S124 in FIG. 2) asdescribed above. When such a motion is detected, a photographingoperation is continued with a setting suitable for photographing anobject which moves fast, for example, by automatically performingsetting for speeding up a frame rate (the process of step S125 in FIG.2).

An example of specific means for a process of predicting a movementperformed when an object being photographed transitions to a suddenmotion (the process of S124 in FIG. 2) will be described below.

FIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a typical exampleof change in behavior in the case where an animal, such as a bird,suddenly moves from a normal motion state. Among these, FIGS. 12A and12B are diagrams illustrating second behavior (apreparation-for-rushing-out period: FIG. 12B) performed at the time of abird starting to move from a normal motion state (first behavior: FIG.12A), and FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating third behavior (aflying-off period: FIG. 13B) that the bird subsequently performs fromthe state in FIG. 12B (a preparation period: FIG. 13A). Note that, inFIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B, description is made with a bird as aspecific example of animal.

In general, as for an amount of change in a direction an object mainlymoves (a height direction in the example in FIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B)at the time of a bird flying off from a normal motion state, there is atendency that an amount of movement ΔL at the time ofstretching/contracting legs (FIG. 13B) is much larger in comparison withan amount of movement ΔH at the time of bending legs and lowering down alower back part (FIG. 12B).

For example, at the time of performing behavior of adjusting thedirection of a face to a flying-off direction, from the normal motionstate in FIG. 12A to the state in FIG. 12B, ΔH can be expressed asfollows:ΔH=(½)·Lb·tan θbwherein the angle of the direction of the face (that is, the angle ofthe vertebra against a horizontal line) is indicated by θb, and thelength of a back part defined by the vertebra of the bird as an objectis indicated by Lb. In this case, the size of the face may be usedinstead of the length of the back part.

Here, if approximately θb=45° is assumed, ΔH changes by only about halfthe length of the back part.

On the other hand, the length of the leg is a length L1 corresponding tothe length from its root part to its distal end part (FIG. 13B). For theleg part length L1 is, for example, almost equal to the length of thevertebra length Lb. The length of the vertebra may be estimated from thesize of the face by using databases classified according to kinds ofanimals or the like.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13B, since it is possible to easily changethe legs from a state in which the legs are completely bent being foldedto a state in which the legs are stretched almost straight by the jointparts of the legs, the amount of rushing-out direction change ΔL causedby stretching/contracting the legs corresponds to the leg length L1.Note that the leg length may be judged from the size of the face. Forexample, the leg length may be roughly calculated on the assumption thatit is about three times as long as the size of the face.

Furthermore, in this case, the motion of stretching wings and the likeare also added, as described above. However, since these motions alsohave an amount of extremely fast change, it is not possible to capturethe motions by photographing at the normal frame rate.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing displacement between an amount and speed ofchange of each part of an object in the case where the object suddenlymoves from a normal motion state (for example, at the time of performinga motion of flying off). In FIG. 14, it is sufficiently possible to copewith the state between a normal motion state period (a first behaviorperiod) indicated by a symbol (I) and a preparation-for-flying-offperiod (a second behavior period) indicated by a symbol (II) byphotographing at the normal frame rate (FR). However, it is not possibleto capture the state during the subsequent flying-off period (a thirdbehavior period) indicated by a symbol (III) by the photographing at thenormal frame rate.

As described above, it is not possible to capture a state byphotographing at the normal frame rate at a timing immediately after alegs bending and stretching motion of a bird occurs. Therefore, thepresent embodiment is configured so that, by paying attention to amotion at a timing immediately before the legs bending and stretchingmotion, for example, change in the vertebra angle θb shown in FIG. 12B(a motion of lowering down a lower back part) or a characteristic motionsuch as a motion of bending legs, such a motion change is detected andjudged. In order to detect the motion change, a situation is desirablein which, for example, change in a lower back part is seen well.Therefore, it is effective that an object animal such as a bird and acat stays sideways. That is the reason why, at each of the processes ofsteps S203 and S213 in the process sequence in FIG. 3, it is judgedwhether a main object stays sideways with the part judgment section 11d.

For example, FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a concept at the time ofjudging each part and a direction of each part when an animal (in thisexample, a bird) stays sideways.

In the case of photographing an animal (in the present example, a bird)staying sideways as a main object as shown in FIG. 15, judgment aboutwhether its face is sideways or not (steps S203 and S213 in FIG. 3) canbe performed by judging a direction which the acute angle of an almosttriangular bill points at (a direction of an arrow C in FIG. 15) to be adirection of a face, for example, in the case of a bird.

When the direction of the face is judged in this way, judgment of theposition of a body (steps S204 and S214 in FIG. 3) is performed. Theposition of the body is judged as such a part that the outline with apredetermined length continuously extends toward a direction (thedirection of an arrow E in FIG. 15) opposite to the direction of theface (the direction of the arrow C in FIG. 15) (a part shown by an arrowG in FIG. 15). The “predetermined length” in this case may be judgedwith the use of the size of the face detected at the time of facedetection. The length may be roughly calculated as being about threetimes as long as the size of the face.

When the position of the body is judged in this way, judgment of thepositions of a lower back and legs (steps S206 and S216 in FIG. 3) isperformed next. The position of the lower back is judged as a part atthe rear of the position of the body (a direction opposite to the face:the direction of the arrow E), and the position of the legs is judged onthe assumption that they exist below the lower back position (thedirection of an arrow D in FIG. 15).

Note that the position of lower back is slightly near the center of abody though it is at the rear of the body in the case of a biped animalsuch as a bird while the position is near the end part at the rear of abody in the case of a quadruped animal such as a cat. In the case wherelegs are bent being folded, there may be a case that judgment of theposition of the legs is difficult (steps S207 and S217 in FIG. 3).Therefore, in judgment of the position of legs, if, for example, thereis a part which exists below a body and the outline of whichcontinuously extends, the part is judged to be legs (a part shown by anarrow F in FIG. 15). Here, judgment of a particular part (the positionof legs or a lower back, and the like) is performed by image analysis,for example, analysis of positional difference from a judgeable part,contours, colors and contrast.

As described above, according to the one embodiment described above, thecamera 1 of the present embodiment executes a normal photographingoperation when, at the time of performing moving image photographingwith a moving object such as a small-size animal, for example, a bird, adog or a cat as an object, the object is in a still state or a normalstate in which the object's motion is inactive (hereinafter simplyreferred to as a normal motion state). During the execution of thenormal photographing operation, motions of the object targeted by thephotographing is always monitored on the basis of sequentially acquiredimage data, and a movement of the object targeted by the photographingis predicted. Then, if it is detected that the object being photographedperforms such a movement that is performed at the time of transitioningto a sudden motion, settings of the camera 1 are automatically switchedso that settings suitable for photographing an object moving fast (forexample, speedup of the frame rate as well as change in sensitivity andaperture, change in photographing parameters accompanying the change,and the like) are made, and the photographing operation is continued.Furthermore, in respond to the change in the motion, the photographingrange is changed.

According to the above, during execution of a moving image photographingoperation, a movement of an object is monitored to predict a movement ofthe object, and photographing setting is changed according to the speedof the movement of the object to perform photographing. Therefore, amoving image acquired in this way can be appreciated as a high-qualitystill image without blur even if the moving image temporarily stops atthe time of reproduction. Furthermore, if a desired one image isextracted from the moving image and recorded as a still image, ahigh-quality still image equal to an ordinary still image can beobtained. Furthermore, in addition to an image based on a set zoomvalue, an image for which the widest angle end by an attached zoom lensis set is simultaneously recorded. At the time of extracting a stillimage, the extraction is performed on the basis of an image recordedwith the widest angle, and the image never becomes such an image that anobject is not completely included within the screen.

Note that, though description has been made on motions of a living thingother than a human being, an animal or the like, specifically, a bird, acat or the like as a main body, as an example in the one embodimentdescribed above, the present invention is similarly applicable to amotion of a human being as a target. That is, in the present invention,detection of a face and detection of parts of a body are effectivelyutilized in two meanings. That is, it is possible to judge a directionin which an object is going to act or a target an object aims at, fromthe direction of the face of the object. Then, a part assumed to move ispredicted from the direction or the target. Information about where thepart exists can be also obtained from the result of detection of theface. In a scene of jumping or the like, the body exists in a directiondifferent from a direction the face faces, and the part is connected tothe body, and its position can be estimated on the basis of the size ofthe face obtained as an image.

Therefore, by providing an image pickup apparatus including an imagepickup section picking up an image of an object to acquire image data, apart judgment section judging the direction and size of a face part ofthe object in an image shown on the basis of the image data, and acontrol section monitoring a particular part different from the face andchanging a photographing condition according to a result of judgment ofchange over time of the particular part, or a method for controlling theimage pickup apparatus, such prevention of failure becomes possible.

A part of the body which is important for prediction of a movement hereis the part of the body of the object detected in a direction oppositeto or different from the direction of the face judged by the partjudgment section. A part of the body which is important for predictionof a movement here is the part of the body of the object detected on thebasis of the size of the face. The present invention utilizes the factthat, since the object dashes out in the direction the face faces, agreat movement change appears at a part of the body in the oppositedirection. Therefore, it is possible to not only simply widen the angleof view but also widen the angle of view toward the direction in whichthe object dashes out. Such enlargement of a range where image pickup ispossible is advantageous when a next motion is further judged.

When the photographing range is always enlarged, it becomes difficult tojudge a small movement. In order for the photographer to sufficientlydetect a movement of a target which he wants to observe, it is necessaryto enlarge the particular target so that how various part's changes canbe sufficiently observed and judged. Therefore, it is a very importantpoint to confirm a small movement with a narrow angle of view before alarge motion occurs.

In other words, it can be said that an image pickup apparatus isprovided, which is capable of judging that a target will make a largemovement, from the size and direction of its face detected in accordancewith a result judged with a narrow angle of view, anticipating start ofa large movement of the whole body of the target and capturing the largemovement.

That is, by a relatively simple configuration, it is possible tophotograph without failing such a scene that a lot of photographers wantto photograph easily but fail in photographing. The problem that anobject is not completely included within a screen is more remarkable asthe zoom magnification is higher or as the angle of view is narrower.Here, failure in photographing is prevented by prediction of a movement.However, of course, the present invention is not limited thereto. Thepresent invention is a technique which can be used for danger predictionor an alarm system by judgment of dash-out and can be applied to brakesmounted in vehicles.

Furthermore, if a dictionary is improved, the technique can be also usedfor insects, arthropods and, furthermore, living things other thanvertebrate animals, such as microorganisms, by preparing a database inwhich characteristics of images of targets, sizes and movement patternsare recorded if they are known.

The one embodiment described above is configure so that, after a livingthing other than a human being, an animal or the like is detected by theprocess sequence in FIG. 2, an optical angle-widening process of thelens section 15 is performed to acquire the second image data. Incomparison, the optical angle-widening process of the lens section 15may be executed to acquire the second image data when an operation modeprepared mainly for the purpose of photographing, for example, a bird, acat or the like is set, and a process for cutout/generation of the firstimage data corresponding to an immediately previous zoom setting valueor a zoom value which has been arbitrarily operation-instructed aftersetting of the operation mode.

The procedure for each process sequence described in each embodimentdescribed above may be changed as far as the change does not depart fromthe nature of the process sequence. Therefore, it is possible to changethe execution order of the respective process steps of the processsequences described above, execute multiple process steps at the sametime, or change the order of the respective process steps each time theseries of process sequences is executed, for example.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodimentdescribed above, and it is, of course, possible to make variousvariations and applications within a range not departing from the spiritof the present invention. Furthermore, the above embodiment includesinventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted byappropriately combining the disclosed multiple components. For example,if, even after some components are deleted from all the components shownin the one embodiment described above, the problem to be solved by theinvention can be solved and the advantageous effect of the presentinvention can be obtained, the configuration after the components havebeen deleted can be extracted as an invention. The present invention islimited only by accompanying claims and not restricted by any particularaspect.

The present invention is not limited to a photographing apparatus whichis an electronic apparatus specialized in a photographing function, suchas a digital camera, and is applicable to various electronic apparatusesprovided with the photographing function in other forms, for example, amobile phone, a recording apparatus, an electronic notebook, a personalcomputer, a game machine, a TV, a clock and a navigation apparatus usingGPS (global positioning system) and the like.

A photographing method as described above can be often downloaded to anapparatus in a program form via a network, and it goes without sayingthat a mobile apparatus, such as a smartphone, with specificationsobtained in such a form is included within the range covered by thepresent invention. In this case, a program developed on the assumptionof an apparatus which downloads the program or an apparatus created onthe assumption of downloading the program can be judged to use thepresent invention if the program or the apparatus is such that candisplay and record an image which a photographer has failed to take atthe time of photographing but the apparatus has supplementarilyphotographed by changing the angle of view and timing.

Furthermore, according to the above embodiment of the present invention,inventions with the following configurations can be obtained. That is:

(1) A method for photographing a moving object, including:

a step of generating image data by an image pickup section;

a first part judgment step of judging a first part of an object in animage based on the image data;

a second part judgment step of presuming and judging a second part ofthe object in the image based on the image data, from the first part;

a change-in-part judgment step of judging change over time of the secondpart;

a step of changing setting of a photographing condition in accordancewith a result of the judgment of the change over time of the secondpart; and

a step of recording the acquired image data.

(2) The method for photographing a moving object according to (1) above,wherein the step of changing the setting of the photographing conditionis a step of changing and enlarging a range of photographing.

(3) A method for photographing a moving object, including:

a step of generating image data by an image pickup section;

a first part judgment step of judging a direction and size of a facepart of an object in an image based on the image data; and

a step of monitoring a particular part different from the face andchanging a photographing condition in accordance with a result ofjudgment of change over time of the particular part.

(4) The method for photographing a moving object according to (3) above,further including a step of, on the basis of the direction of the facejudged by the first part judgment step, judging a part of a body of theobject which faces a direction different from the direction of the face.(5) The method for photographing a moving object according to (3) above,further including a step of judging a part of a body of the objectdetected on the basis of the size of the face judged by the first partjudgment step.(6) A method for photographing a moving object, including:

a step of detecting a size and direction of a face of a target from aresult of judgment with a narrow angle of view;

a step of judging that the target will make a large movement on thebasis of a result of the detection step;

a step of anticipating start of a large movement of a whole body of thetarget on the basis of a result of the judgment step; and

a step of capturing the large movement of the target on the basis ofeach of the result of the judgment step and a result of the anticipationstep.

What is claimed is:
 1. A photographing apparatus comprising: an imagepickup section picking up an image of an object to acquire image data; apart judgment section judging a particular part of the object in theimage shown based on the image data; a change-in-part judgment sectionjudging change over time of the part of the object judged by the partjudgment section; and a control section changing a photographingcondition in accordance with a result of the judgment by thechange-in-part judgment section, wherein the part judgment sectionjudges a first part of the object in the image and a second partpresumed from the first part; and the change-in-part judgment sectionjudges change over time of the second part, by detecting that the objectmoves from a first behavior to a second behavior, and by predicting thatthe object will transit from the second behavior to a third behavior. 2.The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the secondpart judged by the part judgment section is a lower back/hip or legs. 3.The photographing apparatus, according to claim 2, wherein the changeover time of the second part is a change of bending the legs andlowering down the lower back.
 4. The photographing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the control section comprises a reading sectionreading an image signal from the image pickup section; and the readingsection changes a frame rate for the third behavior.
 5. Thephotographing apparatus, according to claim 1, further comprising adatabase section that includes shapes of animals and characteristics ofmotions, wherein the part judgment section judges a fact of the objectas the first part with reference to the database section.
 6. Thephotographing apparatus, according to claim 5, wherein the part judgmentsection judges the second part with reference to the database section inaccordance with a result of sideways face judgment of the face.
 7. Thephotographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change-in-partjudgment section judges change over time of the first part and thechange over time of the second part.
 8. The photographing apparatus,according to claim 7, wherein change over time of the first part is achange corresponding to a change of a vertebra of the object.
 9. Thephotographing apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the thirdbehavior is a jumping-up motion.
 10. A method for photographing a movingobject, comprising: a step of generating image data by an image pickupsection; a first part judgment step of judging a first part of an objectin an image based on the image data; a second part judgment step ofpresuming and judging a second part of the object in the image based onthe image data, from the first part; a change-in-part judgment step ofjudging change over time of the second part, by detecting that theobject moves from a first behavior to a second behavior, and bypredicting that the object will transit from the second behavior to athird behavior; a step of changing setting of a photographing conditionin accordance with a result of the judgment of the change over time ofthe second part; and a step of recording the acquired image data.
 11. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program forcausing a computer to execute the method for photographing the movingobject according to claim 10.